After all the ups and downs and tight turns, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) reached its goal this spring, when the Council of the European Union approved the directive reform. The role play was pretty much the same as before when making directives: The Commission first gives its own ambitious initial proposal, the Council (ie the member states) pull back a lot towards a slightly more realistic version, and finally the Parliament pulls even wilder demands from the Commission's back pocket.
Based on these, last autumn's tripartite negotiations ended up with a relatively good and implementable version of the directive. A few pain points and challenges still remained, but the biggest problems were fixed. In terms of new construction, there were no European requirements, but energy efficiency requirements can still be defined nationally. Similarly, the risks of forced repairs to the existing housing stock did not materialize. Instead, the worst quarter of non-residential buildings must be repaired to be at least somewhat more energy efficient in the next ten years.
The regulations will enter into force in the summer of 2026
The Ministry of the Environment has now opened its own timetables. There is enough national legislation and regulation to be updated, it should be ready in two years, i.e. in the early summer of 2026. At RT, we have already started our own work and organized two workshops for experts in January, on the basis of which it is good to start determining the future guidelines for new construction.
The requirements regarding energy efficiency and indoor air will become somewhat stricter, but within reasonable limits. In the future, there will be requirements for the energy used in the building, and with that there may be regional challenges if, for example, local district heating is not yet renewable.
Although there were no forced repairs to residential buildings, the energy consumption of the residential building stock must be significantly reduced, and this can only be achieved by significantly improving energy efficiency in conjunction with other repairs.
A greater challenge and reflection is directed at the existing building stock and its repair. Clothes will get a lot tighter, because energy consumption in buildings makes up a significant part of Finland's energy consumption and emissions. In Finland, repair debt has rather only grown in recent years. This direction must be changed and quickly. Although there were no forced repairs to residential buildings, the energy consumption of the residential building stock must be significantly reduced, and this can only be achieved by significantly improving energy efficiency in conjunction with other repairs.
We will be actively involved in the implementation of the directive, i.e. in bringing the requirements into national legislation. We help the people of the Ministry of the Environment by making reports and other necessary things so that the legislation will continue to be practical and realistic. The requirements will become stricter, but let's take it as a challenge to build a better and more climate-resistant Finnish building stock.
see also
Jani Kemppainen
Expert, technical requirements
jani.kemppainen@rt.fi +358 40 541 8090Building Construction Industry Association
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